The Northern Property Real Estate Investment Trust of Calgary will acquire one of Toronto's largest collections of rental properties under a proposed deal that would see it take on 25,000 residential suites.

Northern would also acquire a 4,650-suite portfolio of multi-family properties from Starlight Investments Ltd., which is controlled by True North chairman Daniel Drimmer, making the 42-year-old one of the largest investors in the merged company, the Northview Apartment Real Estate Investment.

The move would make Northview one of the dominant players in the market and the third-largest residential REIT. If finalized, the new conglomerate is expected to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, where Northern Property and True North units are traded.

The deal would also ensure that Northview would have suites in more than 60 markets and in every province except for Prince Edward Island and Manitoba. The largest number of suites would be 8,235 in Ontario.

Under the proposed deal, True North shareholders would receive 0.3908 of a share of Northern Property for each share. Northern Property would pay $535-million – including $316-million cash, $49 million of assumed debt and equity issued by the trust – to acquire a portfolio of apartment suites from a joint venture between Starlight and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, which manages retirement funds for the RCMP, Canadian Forces and the reserve forces.

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